still here, still searching, still crafting (a little) – only a little doped!

Family history research is a very absorbing hobby – absorbing of one’s time, that is!

In the past couple of months, I have added over 400 people to my extended family. I try to include the parents and siblings of all my blood relatives’ spouses. Families with ten or more children are not uncommon among the working class from which my ancestors come so the numbers add up quickly.

So, if you’ve been wondering why I’m not reading and commenting on your blog – or writing my own – my computer time is almost totally devoted to family history research these days!

I’m not one for resolutions (and it’s not New Year) but some self-discipline is called for and I am now going to limit my time spent on family history research each day. I have friends who deserve my attention, followers that expect somewhat regular posts and craft projects that need my attention.
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There are photos coming but they have all been taken with my iPad so I apologise in advance for the quality!

Ah, shingles; yes, I was diagnosed with that mysterious virus four weeks ago. I spent the first week doped up so high I couldn’t walk a straight line. I was taking anti-viral medication and a daily dose of125mg of heavy-duty pain-killers (pregabalin for those who need to know such things) for post-herpetic neuralgia. But the good news is that the rash has almost completely disappeared and I am down to 25mg (one capsule) of the pain-killer a day so I’m thinking relatively clearly and almost ready to drive my sewing machine again!

I have been doing some crafting. A week after I was diagnosed I was supposed to teach a workshop on knitting with variegated and hand-painted yarns. I worked diligently through my fog to prepare for that workshop but, alas, it didn't happen; there's no way that I could get my befuddled mind into gear and teach! But samples were made, ripped out and made again.

Why do my mitred squares never come out square? This one will be ripped out!

I even managed to knit a whole dropped-stitch scarf in a commercial variegated acrylic yarn that I’ve dubbed the “brussell sprout” scarf because of the colouring.

In theory, knitting this scarf should have made the blotchy tendencies of this yarn less obvious but, unfortunately, this scarf is still so blotchy the pattern is almost completely obliterated!
 
If it wasn’t acrylic, I’d consider over-dyeing it. I’ve been successful in dying white acrylic yarn but I’m not confident that I can get colours dark enough to overdye this one!  Never mind, the scarf will still make the journey west to Mudgee next week when I tutor a workshop on “knitting with dropped stitches”.

A new project, called the “Mudgee Wrap”, has also been started for the same workshop but there isn’t much to show yet.

I haven’t been courageous (or foolish) enough to use my sewing machine while taking painkillers with that famous warning: “This drug may cause drowsiness. Do not operate machinery.” The idea of sewing through my finger is not at all appealing! But I have paid for classes so attendance is “mandatory”. Bring on the hand stitching…

In the past month I have made quite a few hexagon “triads” from scratch (the photo shows my intended layout although not the final position of the “blocks”)

– which basically means I have drawn and cut hexagons from 4” fabric squares, basted those hexagons and joined them in sets of three to create thirty of these:
  
There has been some humming and hawing over setting these triads but in the end I have decided to go with my original plan and have stuck with my “Dutch cap” shapes which I talked about in this post. In reality, there is quite a lot of fiddling around to create these shapes because each diamond is added separately to the triad then the diamonds are joined together.

So far I have made only one. I hope it will get easier with experience, otherwise I’ll be ripping them all out and looking for an easier setting!

So that’s my last four weeks summed up. Not much to show for it but I am supposed to be taking it easy and concentrating on getting better. The thing is that I just don’t feel “sick” and most of the time forget that I have been ill.

Onwards and upwards, as they say! In other words, back to my Mudgee Wrap which I ambitiously hope to finish in one week!

ennui - over and out Part 1

I've found a way to get over my boredom with my current projects...

Finish them!

There is nothing deep and meaningful about this - simply a decision to "just do it"!

On Saturday night I put some of my favourite music on my iPod, put the iPod in the docking station and bit the bullet by sewing in the last 100 or so ends of my Fibonacci Strip blanket.


While doing so, I noticed that one of the patches had a dropped stitch. On closer inspection the stitch had somehow been broken or cut (it's acrylic so I doubt it was insect damage). I unravelled a row, picking up stitches top and bottom as I went, then tightened some stitches so that I had an end long enough to weave in, and sewed that end in.

With the long end that I had unravelled, I grafted the two rows back together again. Thankfully, it was a variegated yarn (one of my hand-dyes) so my wonky garter stitch grafting doesn't show up too badly!

Here, for your viewing pleasure, is the entire Fibonacci strip blanket.


The blanket was knitted in strips 20 stitches wide, with the length of each patch determined by the Fibonacci series of numbers: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8. For this blanket, 1 was equivalent to four rows.

When the strip was the correct length, I picked up stitches (with the purple yarn) along the side of the strip and cast on an extra twenty stitches (in a different colour) to begin the second strip. As I knitted each right side row, I knitted the last of the twenty stitches together with one of the picked up stitches along the edge of the previous strip (a technique from entrelac) - no sewing for this knitter!

After all eight strips were completed, I picked up stitches along both long sides and knitted borders, then picked up stitches from the top and bottom and knitted borders. If I hadn't told you, you might think I knitted the border in the round but I didn't, it only looks like it!

The only downside to my favourite theme in knitting - colour, colour, and more colour - is all the ends to be sewn in! Yes, I could weave them in as I go but ... well, you know how it is! Sometimes sewing ends in can be therapeutic!

Come back tomorrow for my other "boredom breaking" secret!

hat trick

Cricket was a game that my dad loved and played well into middle age.

In cricket, a hat trick is awarded to the bowler when three batsmen are bowled or caught out from that bowler's three consecutive deliveries. Not easy to do, as you can imagine.

The term "hat trick", according to Wikipedia - the source of not always accurate information - was first used in cricket in 1878, and is now used in other sports, as diverse as soccer, lacrosse, hockey, motor racing, darts and poker!

If I had been raised in a "betting" family, I may have called my post Trifecta, so I guess by now you know that three is the essential number here! LOL

I completed three hats (we call them beanies) in three consecutive days so may I present my hat trick?

All three are variations of my "go to" pattern, which is labelled Beanie With Pompoms in Handknits to Wrap and Adorn (Ravelry link). Mine definitely do not have pompoms (nor are ever likely to!)

The first is Self Striping Beanie, which is knitted from 8ply (DK) acrylic which I hand-dyed using acid dyes. Here is the yarn in the round, so to speak,


and here is the beanie:

I love the process and products of hand dyeing but am a bit over the self striping or blotchy "pooling" effects of these yarns. This second hat, my Not So Subtle Stripes beanie, uses the left overs of the above yarn paired with a solid acrylic of unknown origin. I like the way this breaks up the pooling.

You know, it's astonishing how plastic-y acrylic feels when I have been knitting in wool for several weeks! I guess that's because it is a form of plastic!

The third beanie is my favourite of the three. It was actually the first of these three beanies to be finished but I'm one of those people who likes to leave the best till last.

I call it my Subtle Stripes beanie. It is knitted in the remainder of the variegated yarn used for my Water, Forest and Fire scarf (Ravelry link to my project page) with a ball of Moda Vera Pure wool, colour Fern.

I love the way the stripes work in this beanie and will definitely repeat this idea.

Now I understand why so many beanies turn up in the charity parcels - they are so quick and easy to knit! There's no need to repeat one to create a second one (as is the case for socks/mittens/gloves), and no boring repetitiveness (as in scarves) because they are done so quickly. In many cases, a 50g skein is enough to complete a hat so three or four hats can be made from the same amount of yarn taht is used to make one scarf.

Long live the hat - may many heads be warmed!

the first of autumn

In Australia, our seasons change on the first of the month (not on the equinox as in some other countries). Today is the first day of autumn - not that it felt any different to yesterday with the temperature forecast about 32*C (92*F) with high humidity. Yet there is a promise of cooler weather ahead.

The organisation I collect knitted items for, Australian Inland Ministries, is the charity of the month in April on knit4charities, as is another event I support: Sydney's Homeless Connect Day. I'm knitting as fast as I can but, as you all know, it's never fast enough! I have revisited some long neglected projects and have knitted new ones. I only cast on a new project when I have completed a UFO so that means relatively monogamous knitting is happening here.

I am currently knitting from patterns. That is unusual for me as I either use my "go to" patterns (especially for beanies and socks) or design my own patterns. Out of curiosity, I typed "charity" into the search box on Ravelry's pattern page and was stunned to get a very large number of patterns in response! I also trawled my friends' projects/faves to add to my Ravelry queue which is now so long (for me) that I'll never knit everything that's on there!

So here are a couple of my recently finished projects:

The Campus Scarf (Ravelry Link) knitted in Moda Vera Cynthia on 4mm (US 6) needles. I modified this pattern to use only 30 stitches because 42 was too wide. My scarf is a little narrow but it's long so it can be wound around the wearer's neck twice for extra warmth.

I'm ashamed to admit it but I finally got around to putting the zipper in this Tomten jacket! How embarassing - I finished knitting this in 2009!

More about my other finshed projects when I have photos to show!

sock it to me

Last week was my mum's birthday. DD, GS#1 and I went to visit her for a few days. While we were there, using the notes from the tutorial I gave last October and using dpns for the first time, DD knitted this (without much help from me). It is knitted in 8ply/DK wool that she hand-dyed and would fit a child about six months old.

I'm very proud of you, darling daughter.

Entrelac style blanket finished

I knitted this blanket from my hand-dyed acrylic to my own design. It is so pretty I can scarcely think of giving it away! LOL

The two outside panels are done in entrelac, the pale aqua border was added to one side of each and then the centre panel was stitched to join the two outside panels together. From a distance the colours don't show up very well so here are two close ups from the centre panel.

To finish, a six row border was added to the long sides of the blanket, then six rows to the top and bottom. Finally I knitted all the way around (using my KnitPicks 150cm, 120cm, 80cm and 60cm cables) using the ends of various yarns. I could have done two more rounds but I was so sick of purling 1000+ stitches that I stopped!

eta: Details
size: 175cm (70inches) x 100cm (40 inches)
yarn: hand-painted and hand-dyed acrylic 8ply (DK) in 14 colourways (see each entrelac square) and 100g of pale aqua acrylic (thanks Leonie)
design: my own
stitches: garter stitch throughout
time taken: February 26-April 17 (approx. 7 weeks)
destination: Wrap with Love (TAFE challenge)

in which I speak of URTI and family and iTunes and not too much of knitting

I had been knitting projects for Grandson #1 but stopped abruptly after a visit to the doctor on Thursday 25th February. I had a respiratory tract infection for the second time in a month (why do I only get sick when I am on leave from work?) and the doc told me to stay away from DD, SIL and GS#1. *pout*

I figured that it probably wasn't a good idea to knit cute little goodies while I was coughing and spluttering germs everywhere so I had to start a new project which I’ll be able to wash in hot water! I began another blanket for Wrap with Love knitted in my own hand-dyed acrylic. I completed one strip 70 inches (1.75m) long and 8 inches (20cm) wide and began a second but grew weary of the whole garter stitch thing, even though I wasn't knitting just plain rows! The blanket is in an entrelac style, each larger square is made up of four smaller squares knitted in opposing directions.

Last Monday, 1st March, mum arrived to spend a few days with us. Really she was here to meet her first Great-Grandchild so, of course, the first place we went after meeting her train was DD's unit (apartment) where plenty of photos were taken.

During mum's stay there was shopping in the local mall (twice) and a look around the local markets, a visit to my in-laws (with DD, SIL and GS#1) and a visit to my DB and very pregnant DSIL (once again with DD, SIL and GS#1). DSIL is booked in for a Caesarean on 18th March but mum thinks she won't last that long!

On the two days that we didn't leave the house, mum sewed in hundreds of ends on the blanket I knitted late last year (also for Wrap with Love). Thanks mum! When she left yesterday morning I think she was glad to leave the blanket behind (with some ends still not sewn in!).

Most of yesterday, I spent studying iTunes – what’s available and how it works. Of course, I already had a library of knitting podcasts but I had to figure out how to download them to my iPod and how to remove the ones I have already listened to! It's amazing what's out there!! I’ve delved deeply into other types of podcasts (particularly those from Librivox) and what’s available in audio-book form. I had been considering signing up with audible.com (after listening to several podcasts of Sticks and String which they have been sponsoring) but I’m not sure – books on iTunes seem to be cheaper! Has anyone any experience in purchasing audio-books that they want to share?

Something new [part 3]

Firstly, thanks to all those who dropped by and wished me well on the anniversary of my blog's existence. While I was 'redecorating', I considered changing my blog's name. I thought something simple like "Lynne Knits" but I also crochet and dye so that was too exclusive. I rather like "Life, the Yarniverse and Everything" or "Life in the Yarniverse" but there's a yarn store called Yarniverse and I don't think they'd appreciate it. Since I knit mostly for charity [although you'd never know it at the moment between the ungiven baby blanket and the wedding stole] I also considered "Knit to Give" but, again, I also have other yarn habits! Maybe that should be my blog name!!

Anyway, I've decided to leave it as it is for now - I feel I'm only just getting known in Blogland so now may not be the time to change!! Feel free to share your opinion - I really want to know what readers think.

Speaking of my blog, you have probably noticed that I have finally figured out how to put a photo on my blog header - one of my own hand-dyed yarns from last January, photo courtesy of WM. It was all in getting the 800x200 picture size!

Lastly, - the wedding stole* progresses - I'm now up to 28 repeats [the end of the centre panel is in sight, people].

*Somewhere along life's journey I have learnt shawl = triangular, stole is used for rectangular pieces so even though Jane Sowerby calls it 'Myrtle Leaf Shawl' my head keeps saying 'stole'.

I'm off to knit!

Rising from the frog pond

After a week of deliberation, the beret did indeed go swimming in the frog-pond. And up out of it rose... a beret!

The new beret has been knitted on 2.75mm and 3.50mm needles [a smaller size than the smaller size used previously!!] - now, naturally enough, the beret fabric is tighter but the beret is too small for an adult's head - even for an adult's small head. But that's okay - it will fit an older child who will love the pink, mauve and yellow combination of my hand-dyed yarn.

As for the second 50g skein that was in the original; it is resting - waiting for me to realise what it was always meant to become!

So, a win all round - I successfully completed my beret [though I'm not entirely happy with the way the fabric bunches]; and a young lady somewhere will get a beautiful, one-of-a-kind beret.